THE locations of stations along Downtown Line Stage 2, a 16.6km stretch joining residents in Bukit Panjang and Bukit Timah to the city centre, were revealed on Tuesday.

The line, one of half a dozen new rail projects Singapore is embarking on up to 2020, will make stops near schools like Singapore Chinese Girls School, Raffles Girls School, Hwa Chong Institution and National Junior College.

Several residential developments like the Equatorial, Blossomvale as well as the Housing Board heartland of Bukit Panjang will also have stations near them.

Starting from Singapore's downtown is the line's southern-most station of Rochor. North of this is the first of three interchanges, Little India station, which connects the North-east Line.

Next is Newton Interchange, near Singapore's most famous hawker centre; and then Stevens Station, under Stevens Road and a stone's throw from the Raffles Town Club.

After that comes the Botanic Gardens Station, which intersects with the Circle Line.

The line then moves through Singapore's most prestigious residential area, with stops near Duchess Avenue, Sixth Avenue (actually nearer to Fourth) and Blackmore (near King Albert Park).

In the vicinity are the Nissan and BMW showrooms.

From there, the line crosses over to the shop-and-dine hub of Beauty World, where a station will be located.

Stations north of Beauty World are Hillview (near Dairy Farm) and Cashew (near Assumption English School and St Joseph's Church).

Next, the Downtown Line links up with the Bukit Panjang LRT, at the Petir station.

The line terminates at Gali Batu Depot, which is to be sited on part of the Kwong Hou Sua Teochew Cemetery.

In all, there are 12 stations, of which three are interchanges (Little India, Newton and Botanic Gardens). As with the Circle Line, the Land Transport Authority will be asking the public to suggest permanent names for the other nine stations.

Stage 2 of Downtown Line is part of a $12 billion 40km project linking the north-western and eastern parts of Singapore to the new downtown. Major construction will start middle of next year.

Stage 1 is is where the Integrated Resort, Gardens by the Bay and new financial district are. Stage 3 goes through MacPherson, Bedok Reservoir and Tampines areas to end at the East-West Line's Expo Station.

The LTA, meanwhile, on Tuesday gave another progress report on the Circle Line. Stage 3, linking Bartley to Marymount, is on track to be the first portion of the orbital rail line to be opened in mid-2009.

The five stations along this stretch are expected to attain temporary occupation permits by end of this year.

Overall, about 90 per cent of tunnels of the 33km line are completed, with the rest by early next year.